Land tortoise census to be conducted next year |16 April 2021

Giant land tortoises in the Botanical Garden. A census will be carried out next year on the population of these animals in captivity (Photo: Thomas Meriton)

People on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue with giant land tortoises in their possession are being urged to have them registered for the upcoming Aldabra Giant Land Tortoise Census to be conducted in 2022.

The aim of the registration exercise is to record the number of giant land tortoises kept in captivity on the three islands, as well as their weight, sex and living conditions.

The data will be used by the Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change & Environment for its own environment purposes as well as for dissemination with other interested partners.

Registration of the giant land tortoises will be open until September 2021.

As part of the ministry’s strategy against the spread of Covid-19, owners are requested to register their tortoises by filling out a form which will be available online through its Facebook page, Instagram and on the Website; www.meecc.gov.sc. Those who cannot make it on the online platform can call the ministry (4670541) for assistance.

Speaking to the press at the environment department, Botanical Garden on Wednesday afternoon, Lynn Dubignon, senior public relations officer, said that the registration process will be followed by home visits which will include evaluating and giving advice on the animal’s welfare.

She further said that leaflets on the welfare of tortoises will be distributed as well during the home visits.

Ms Dubignon stated that people who have tortoises but are unable to keep them, could either seek help from the ministry which will try to cater for them at its tortoise parks, namely at the Botanical Garden and State House, among other options such as looking for other people who will be willing to care for them.

She noted that after the survey in 2022, the owners will be presented with a certificate which will accredit them in the ministry’s data base for further assistance with regard to maintaining the health and living conditions of their tortoises.

She said that the giant tortoise is considered as an endemic species and therefore its population needs to be recorded and updated in a database so as to assess whether its population have increased or declined.

Ms Dubignon said that the upcoming survey is an initiative of the ministry which is held every ten years. She noted that the last Aldabra Giant Land Tortoise Census was held in 2011-2012 where 4000 tortoises were recorded to be in captivity in the country.

She said that although the coco de mer trees and nuts are also registered and with the commercial nuts holding a prized tag, she was not aware if that is the case with regard to being in possession of a tortoise for the time being.

Ms Dubignon stated that the registering process will not take place on the outer islands as the database on the giant tortoises found there is up to date.

She said that this is as a result of the excellent work of collecting data by environment NGOs on those islands.

She said that data collected on their tortoises are sent to the ministry every year.

To conclude, she urged the public in possession of tortoises to make it their responsibility and participate in the registering process as they stand to benefit from it.

For example, after participating they will get a census certificate which will help them get extra assistance from the ministry which will go towards the welfare of the tortoises in their possession.

Patrick Joubert